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Interview: Snoop Dogg

Saying that Snoop Dogg is currently undergoing an artistic renaissance largely overlooks the fact that he has, since the early ’90s, always been a versatile pop fixture. Instead, Snoop is experiencing a reinvention—or as his upcoming reggae album with Diplo and documentary of the same name describe it, a reincarnation: first as the riddim-reformed Snoop Lion and now as DJ Snoopadelic. Earlier this month, Snoopadelic emerged with Loose Joints, a compilation of unabashed, club-razing EDM that might easily prompt dance floor ataxia in any avid raver. And in October, his collaboration with Boys Noize, "Got It," will be released on the German DJ's Out of the Black LP. For now, stream Loose Joints below and read an interview with Snoop about branching out from hip-hop, clubbing in Europe and adopting yet another moniker.

What prompted DJ Snoopadelic and your growing interest in electronic music? Snoop Dogg meets Funkadelic and you get Snoopadelic, baby. Couple of my homies and homegirls came to me and said that’s an avenue you never really went down. It’s so global that I had to fucks with it.

In your recent projects, you've seemingly moved away from hip-hop. Why reach into other genres? Throughout my whole career, I have branched down different avenues through collaborations and tours. Whether working with Katy Perry, Willie Nelson, Pussycat Dolls, Korn, 311, Johnny Cash… Whoever or wherever, I’ve always been experimental and won doing it. No disrespect to hip-hop, but if you wanna be universal, you gotta do universal things. Hip-hop is big all over, but if you got the power and talent to do other things, then why not? Not why.

Have you been hitting up the club scene to get better acquainted with the culture?When I’m in Europe, I’ll hit up the clubs in Paris, Cannes, Nice, St. Tropez, Ibiza, London. In the US, you can catch me in LA, Miami, Vegas and NYC. Club promoters gotta break bread or fake dead for me to show up. Europe definitely got it poppin off and I love hearin the new shit in Ibiza and St. Tropez. Something about Europe and dance tracks that go hand in hand, ya dig? They always puttin me up on the new shit and I come back with something bangin. One of my favorite dance tracks that I play durin my set in Europe is Sak Noel’s “Loca People.” That shit right there is bangin.

Will you be doing any original tracks with the producers featured on the Loose Joints compilation? Definitely. Not sure what I’m gonna hit you with first, but that’s definitely something to look out for. I gotta keep my fans and my critics on their toes. That’s how I stay in the game and on top. And I’m definitely gonna be banging my new tracks the next time I have a DJ Snoopadelic gig. Not sure if it’s gonna be in Europe or in the USA, but I do know one thing: it’s damn sure gonna win.

Are Snoop Dogg, Snoop Lion and Snoopadelic all part of a greater whole, or are they each their own distinct personality? Snoop Lion, Snoop Dogg, DJ Snoopadelic—they only know one thing: make music that’s timeless and bangs. I’m Snooperman. I go into the booth and when I come out I’m damn sure gonna have a hit record for yo ass.